Lightning Is the Only Way

Was Gravis angry at Ferris? No.

Was Gravis annoyed by Ferris? A little bit.

Was Gravis envious of Ferris? Hell yes!

This guy managed to comprehend three entire Laws in just a bit more than a year. Was this normal for an Emperor? Was this what the Empress and the Grand Elder meant with that Emperors had way more experience with understanding Laws? Was the gulf between Gravis and an Emperor truly that vast?

Gravis had been delighted with his progress, but when compared to Ferris, his progress was laughable. This guy picked up Laws like they were some coins lying on the road.

"How are you comprehending so many Laws, Ferris?" Gravis asked helplessly.

"I don't know," Ferris said with a heartfelt smile of excitement, his tail wagging. "I just look at everything and realize that I have seen similar things in the past. Then, everything comes just naturally, and I know what I should pay attention to."

Gravis felt helpless when he heard that and sighed again. "It sounds like you have experienced a lot of things, Ferris," Gravis said.

Ferris fell into thought. "I guess I did," he said. "I've been a level one Emperor for over 3,000 years by now. I guess it's normal for me to have seen a lot of things."

Gravis nearly dropped the stone he was holding. "You've been a level one Emperor for over 3,000 years?" he asked in shock.

Ferris nodded. "Yep," he said with a smile. "I've fully committed myself to fire for the past 3,000 years and have not comprehended many other Laws. Man, in just the last year, I managed to comprehend more Laws than in the past 500 years. My talk with you has helped me immensely!"

'500 years with only one or two Laws,' Gravis thought with sympathy. 'This must've been hard for Ferris. No wonder he's so excited. So, all the Laws he has understood in the past year were due to an accumulation for nearly 3,000 years.'

Gravis looked at the sky with a forlorn expression. 'I can't even imagine not comprehending a single Law for over a hundred years. This must be horrible.'

Ferris noticed Gravis' forlorn expression and cocked his head to the side. "Why are you looking at the sky so heartbroken?" he asked innocently.

Gravis sighed again when he heard Ferris. "To be honest with you, I imagined myself in your shoes. Not understanding a single Law for a hundred years sounds terrifying. It would be like my path forward was cut off."

"Psh," Ferris made a sound like thinking about something like that was idiotic. "How is that terrifying? It's normal! Well, maybe not that long, but long times are normal. Emperors want to become more powerful, so they try to understand the relevant Laws to their Battle-Strength. Learning one thing deeply is harder than learning the basics of new things," Ferris commented.

"I'm not so sure about that, Ferris," Gravis answered.

"What do you mean?" Ferris asked with curiosity.

"Didn't you say that you learned something about fire by understanding another Law?" Gravis asked. "Isn't learning a deeper Law just more knowledge? Some of the knowledge is probably harder to decipher, but that may only be so because some of the knowledge is less prevalent in the category associated with it."

Ferris furrowed his brows in thought. "Could you explain?" he asked without thinking for long.

of over four different materials. I can try to understand the rock, but it's harder for me to learn everything about this rock when I only look

"Yeah, I mean, that's how Laws work. A level two Law

this rock represents a

was

"Think about the Law of Steam. It's a level one Law,

Ferris nodded with enthusiasm.

be part of the Laws of Water, but it requires fire to create steam. Therefore, to understand the Law of Steam, you need to understand the fire and water

BOOOOOOOM!

into the distance as parts of his scales melted down, burning his flesh. If Ferris had directed that power directly towards

the gigantic fire pillar. "I understand! I finally understand!"

been thrown away a couple of kilometers as he created a crater in the mountain. Yet, instead of dealing with his

first, Gravis had been confused, but then he understood that Ferris must have comprehended an important Law.

arrived in front of Gravis

shouted with excitement. "Man, you're really

"I guess you've understood

Law for the past 2,500 years! This was exactly the Law that has stumped me for such

a level two Law?"

had advanced without understanding another one, I would have become a bit below average in terms of Battle-Strength. The Emperor of my old

asked with interest. Level two Laws were something

said. "Having fire just shoot out in a straight line seems too predictable. Additionally, controlling fire takes a lot of Energy. In my harder fights, I've never had an issue with offense or with speed but with Energy. I run out of Energy way too fast, which always forces me

thought that there might be a method to make fire manipulate

element control itself?" Gravis asked.

the thing!" Ferris shouted. "How would that even work? I tried a lot of things, and I've understood some Laws

your words, and boom, I immediately knew what I had to do! And it just so happened that the Law I've understood just before that was the

"I haven't asked

uttered. "Right, you don't know. Some weeks ago, I just started looking at everything with interest, and one thing has interested me specifically. What makes

that exactly what I was thinking about previously?'

plants are a huge help. Additionally, I looked at some weaker beasts. Then, at some time,

couple of times in surprise. "You found

nodded. "Yep! It's the

as he furrowed his brows. "How did you come to

legs. "Well, I've been pretty bored the last 3,000 years. So, I might have had

bit uncomfortable with

to look at it from a different perspective. So, I

Infusion?" Gravis asked with

simple Law. Such an ethereal concept like the soul shouldn't be that easy to understand. It seems more

obviously combined this Law with the Law of Fire Manipulation. So, I guess he managed to infuse his fire with a soul. Like that, his fire would become alive, would have its own will, and would, therefore, also control

lines of the Law of Living